Gold Coast Titans recruit Lachlan Ilias has revealed he believes he wasn't given a fair go at the St George Illawarra Dragons.
Ilias has made the move north after gaining a release from the Red V, but speaking on Josh Mansour's Unscripted podcast, he revealed he felt he was treated unfairly at the Dragons after being dropped for what he was told were defensive issues early in the campaign.
“Our first win was against Melbourne in Kogarah in the wet - we were building nicely, but then shit happens,” Ilias said.
“I don't think I was given a fair opportunity to get back into the team after I was dropped.
“I got told I was dropped for my defence, I don't know what was said in the media or why I was dropped. [It was about] reads and it was a new defensive system as well, so I was getting used to it and they said there were a few tries between me and Jaydn Su'A.
“I told the defensive coach and the wrestling guy after I got dropped that I would do more extras and put my best foot forward to try and get picked back into the team."
The NSW Cup team played superbly with Ilias in the side, going all the way to the grand final, but Ilias said despite improving his defence, he wasn't afforded another opportunity in the top grade.
More than that, the halfback suggested he wasn't even kept up to date with the first-grade squad, or given any feedback on his performances, apart from after a loss to Newtown.
“The only dialogue that I got after I got dropped was after we won 10 or 11 games in a row for Cup and then we played terrible against Newtown … it just wasn't our day and that was the only time I got feedback about my game, saying that I played poorly," he said.
“I was doing everything I could, I don't know if I could have done any more to get back into the team. It was a different time, because the boys in NRL weren't playing great but we were playing well, so the vibe was high in the Cup team.
“We were building these connections in Cup, putting our best foot forward … I don't think myself or other boys in the Cup team were given a fair opportunity to get back into NRL.”
Intriguingly, the Cup team's performances outdoing that of their NRL counterparts didn't see wholesale changes from Shane Flanagan.
He retained son Kyle and Lyhkan King-Togia in the halves, despite Ilias combining superbly with the also now departed Jonah Glover (South Sydney Rabbitohs) in the reserve grade competition, while Flanagan struggled to make decisions in other areas of the team, with Tyrell Sloan dropped repeatedly.
Injuries forced other changes to the team, but the Dragons would wind up finishing 15th on the ladder, raising eyebrows as to how the team was being selected each week while the reserve grade side were performing exceptionally well.
The Dragons welcome Daniel Atkinson to the club in 2026 as their new halfback, but there are still questions around the remainder of the side, with Ilias suggesting things were simply wrong at the club.
“I'm not trying to talk shit about anything else, but I just think there were a few things that went wrong and I feel like the best team wasn't picked week-in and week-out," the halfback said.
“[I am] a little bit bitter that I didn't get a fair crack. I don't think I had a fair opportunity to get back into the side. I did everything to put myself back into the team.”
Ilias now moves to the Gold Coast and has a chance to become their starting halfback, although Jayden Campbell appears to be locked into that role for the foreseeable future, having just re-signed with the club.
There is a world however where Campbell plays at five-eighth following the retirement of Kieran Foran, with AJ Brimson potentially moving back to the centres and Keano Kini reclaiming the number one jersey after missing a considerable chunk of 2025 with injury.
